The related, commonly assigned, applications cited hereinabove, as well as the present application, are directed toward methods and systems for efficiently handling logistics applications. More particularly, the present application is directed toward a method and system for rating charges to be applied to parcels, letters, or similar items to be transported by a carrier as selected from among a set of carriers.
The ability of shippers to get parcels from the loading dock to the final destination in shorter time spans and at less cost has increased in recent years. The growth of the overnight carriers, and the consistency of the two and three day delivery carriers has created vast fleets of transport vehicles representing each of the many transportation modes. These, in turn, benefit from efficient manifesting and logistical accounting.
Carriers are companies that provide services to their clients for facilitating the transport of letters, parcels, bulk goods, or anything that can be shipped by public, common, or specialized transport means. There is a great variety in the types and scope of services that can be provided by the individual carrier.
The growth of shipping demand has fueled the drive for efficiencies that each of the carriers has been developing. Technological advances and better methods of doing business have in turn spurred greater demand for carrier services. The net result is that the volume of parcels being shipped has continued to spiral upward.
Systems and methods have been proposed to more efficiently handle the increased volume of parcels and the proliferation of carrier services that are available. Carriers have introduced systems and methods that are targeted to that carrier only. Shippers have looked for systems that provide them with a means to rate or service shop. The object of all of these systems has been to get a parcel on from point A to point B, efficiently.
Carrier Management Systems such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,132, SYSTEM FOR PREPARING SHIPPING DOCUMENTS, issued Aug. 13, 1991 to Schuricht et al., are well known to the art. One such system is the E900 Carrier Management System, developed and marketed by the assignee of the present application. The E900 generally includes as peripheral elements: a microprocessor, keyboard; monitor; platform scale; printer, and possibly a scanner. The E900 system automatically prepares documents for shipping articles to any desired number of different receivers by any selected carrier or mode.
The ability of carriers to respond to shipper needs is based on the carrier's capacity. Carrier capacity is the space that is available at any given time in the vehicle representing the carrier's mode of transport. For every shipment that leaves the dock of a shipper bound for a particular destination, a carrier makes available a mode of transportation. Each mode of transportation has its unique vehicle for transport: freight cars via rail; containers via ship; cubic inches via truck; etc. This capacity must be rated in some manner according to the rating data developed and promulgated by each of the carriers.
Each carrier has its own rate structure for service charges. Typically, rate structures are complex and involve a variety of factors; these factors may include: distance from origin to destination; weight rating; dimensional rating; service rating; and mode of transport. Thus, the business rules for rating items to be transported varies greatly from carrier to carrier. Rating calculations may shift over time depending upon shifts in the business or carrier climate. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mechanism for updating how carrier rates are calculated.
The efficiency of rating techniques has been enhanced by methods such as is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,310 for a FLEXIBLE METHOD FOR APPLYING CUSTOMIZED RATING ADJUSTMENTS TO TRANSACTION CHARGES, issued Mar. 8, 1994 to Carroll et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present claimed invention. Carroll et al. discloses a method for automatically applying customized rating adjustments to transaction charges. Charges are determined by partitioning a class of transactions into cells in accordance with pre-determined criteria, determining base rates for the resulting cells, and applying customized rates to certain cells before transmitting the combined rate data to a shipping system data center. U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,246 for a FLEXIBLE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR APPLYING CUSTOMIZED RATING ADJUSTMENTS TO TRANSACTION CHARGES, issued Aug. 9, 1994 to Carroll et al. discloses an alternative method of automatically applying customized rating adjustments to transaction charges.
The prior art works well in embedded systems or in an intranet environment where the systems administrator or systems user has some measure of control over the operating system platforms that are storing data, applying rating charges, and storing the data within a data center. However, the advancement of data processing systems and the ability of varying logistics services applications to require data sharing for the purposes of optimizing logistics operations has created a definitive need for systems of varying architecture, and with varying operating systems, to be able to share data within a common environment. Thus, there is a need for a logistics/shipping system capable of managing diverse applications within a common environment for optimal service. Additionally, a method of employing the rating functionality of one application within the functionality of another application is required.
As the capabilities of data processing systems has grown, so too have the requirements that are tasked to these systems. Greater speed has given rise to more detail oriented applications, greater memory capability has made memory intensive applications more attractive, and detailed applications have lead to more widespread use of previously inaccessible data processing abilities. With the spiraling growth in data processing ability, there has grown a need for more efficient ways of programming that promote speed as well as flexibility. Flexibility, in particular, allows applications that have been designed in varied programming languages, or operating on different platforms to be able to communicate without extensive system or file modification.
Once such means of promoting flexibility within a data processing system is in the use of “object-oriented” design (OOD). Object oriented programming languages are useful in removing some of the restrictions that have hampered application design due to the inflexibility of traditional programming languages.
OOD utilizes a basic element or construct known as the “object,” which combines both a data structure and an intended behavior characteristic within the single element. Thus, software applications become an organized collection of discrete objects in which data is held or moved based on the intended behavior of an object which is inherently unique. Each object knows how to perform some activity. Objects can be specific or conceptual. But, to be of value to a particular application, objects must be able to be referenced.
Referencing is accomplished through indexing, addressing, or through value assignment which can be placed in a table for use as required. Objects can also be arranged by classification. Classification is based on groupings of objects based upon properties or characteristics important to an application or requirement. Each class describes a potentially infinite set of objects that comprise that class.
OOD is known in the software arts and specific discussion of application design based upon OOD is not required for a thorough understanding of the applicant's claimed invention. The use of object oriented design, together with the use of an OCX to facilitate object oriented linking of diverse applications, is a distinct benefit when employed within data processing systems such as logistics systems with rating applications. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide for an object oriented method and system, of communication via the globally accessible computer network known as the InterNet. The Internet is a vast resource of information, much of which is available at no direct cost. A local computer can connect to a distant server, request a file or an image from the server, and receive the requested information immediately without a direct charge for the value of the information.
One popular technology enjoying wide use with the Internet is known as the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web enables a computer to locate a remote server using a server name in an agreed-upon format that is indexed at a central Domain Name Server (DNS); the computer can then establish a connection to the server and retrieve information using a communication protocol called the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) uniquely identifies each page of information stored on the remote server. A URL is a form of network address that identifies the location of information stored in a network. The local computer requests information by providing a request containing a URL of the desired information to the remote server. The pages of information are files prepared in the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
For all these reasons, there is a need for methods, apparatus and products that can request and retrieve information from a remote source; format the information for local use; and pass the formatted information for local use. There is also a need for such methods, apparatus and products that can retrieve such information in an automatic way, and automatically format the information for use by a local processing resource.